Defending champion James Kingston will be there, but he will have a number of impressive pretenders to his Vodacom Championship throne when the tournament gets underway at the Pretoria Country Club on February 12.

His final round 65 last year took care of the challenge of Brazilian Adilson Da Silva, and, as solidly as the South American has been playing on the Sunshine Tour this year, Kingston will really have to watch his back for challenges from Branden Grace and Tyrone van Aswegen.

Grace is going places: After missing the cut in the Johannesburg Open, the 21-year-old who finished in a share of eighth at the SA Open has already amassed six times as much on the Order of Merit as he did on the 2008 Sunshine Tour.

Shares of second at the Africa Open, of 10th at the Dimension Data Pro-Am, and a tie for third in the Nashua Masters have shown him to be ready to win.

?Everything about my game is getting together,? he said, ?and now I have to keep it going and get a win.?

He acknowledged he was up against some good opposition: ?There are good players, but all I can do is try my best and know that I have beaten them before,? he said.

?I?m feeling positive... actually, very confident about this week,? he added.

Van Aswegen, like Kingston, finished with a 65 in last year?s event, but was way off the pace in a share of 37th.

That was then. This year, Van Aswegen is sitting pretty at fourth on the Order of Merit with over R714 000 in the bank, and two top 10 finishes in the first four tournaments.

?My story has been about consistency, really,? he said. ?I?ve been driving well, getting it on the green and making some putts.

?My short game is very good at the moment and all my hard work is coming together," he added as he got back to practice after taking a few days off after The Open International Final Qualifier last week where he missed a place in the major by two agonising strokes.

He won two tournaments last year — both Winter Swing events. One of them was the Vodacom Origins at Pretoria Country Club.

He could win again there this week.